6. Antichrist - Lars Von Trier
Yes mister fox chaos does indeed reign in this sun-drenched delightful feel-good romp of the decade. Sarcasm aside there is something about Antichrist that makes you feel queasy. It feels forbidden like an artistically rendered expression of a mental disorder. Lars made this film after already being an established art house film maker . Even as an art house diva one needs to understand the concept of restraint especially when dealing with darker matters. Antichrist is so heavily focused on darkness that it comes across that the director is merely wallowing in depravity and despair . Lars has stated that he made this film to deal with his depression. Using art as a way of coping with one's emotions is not a new concept. There is however a difference between a painting, photograph, poem and a movie. One can look at a painting, process the content and move on quickly. Exposing someone to your emotional darkness and forcing them to wallow in it for two hours is something all together different. The film itself concerns a married couple who lose a son after he falls out of window while his parents are doing the horizontal bop in a nearby room. This causes them both to go insane and perform completely bizarre acts upon each other. Other than being morbidly dark the movie itself suffers mostly from over the top excess and a lack of subtlety. You know an art film is going horribly awry when the director just starts going gonzo insane pouring on sex and violence for shock value. Shock when done right is very effective as it is in A Clockwork Orange. In the wrong hands it can come across as unfocused artistic desperation (for example, Passion of The Christ). Such is the case here especially the last act which is filled with sexual violence. Lars seemed to be struggling with his inability to understand women in abstract brutal ways. This kind of outlandish psychological excess makes Sigmund Freud seem relevant again.Lars Von Trier used Antichrist to test the limit of his psyche. I have a suggestion for Lars. No one wants to sit in a dark room while you navel gaze at their expense. My advice to Lars is hire a therapist and down expect us to pay to be yours.